February 22, 2011

Sun Drop, the sleepy citrus soda that is mostly only found in the Southeastern part of the United States is getting a makeover with Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s latest plan to take the soda National. As part of a promotion campaign, the company has partnered with MTV’s Scratch to feature the drink on episodes of ‘The Real World Las Vegas.’ The deal is interesting because rather than just a flat advertising fee, the two companies have entered into a revenue-arrangement based on sales volume.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Dr Pepper Snapple Group is reportedly trying to take some market share from the top selling citrus soda in the U.S., PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew has 84.3% of the citrus soda market share while Sun Drop has 2%.

The decision to push the brand Nationally stemmed in part from a study conducted in New York City, “We did a taste test on the streets of New York City, and it has been abundantly clear that Sun-Drop can be a successful brand nationally,” said company spokesman Jason Genthner. “Sun- Drop is unique. It’s had that passionate following for many years, and we’re looking to capitalize on that passionate following and get it out to the masses.”

Given the extremely competitive nature of the declining carbonated soda business it will be interesting to see if Sun Drop can build on it’s smaller regional fan base and become a National brand.

December 8, 2010

If you have a charge on your credit card from SCI Vending it is most likely from Smart Carte International: www.smartecarte.com. Here is their phone number: 1-800-838-1176.

Vending Solutions is not affiliated with SCI Vending. They do not process any credit cards for our vending machines. Please do not contact us regarding SCI charging your credit card.

My company frequently receives calls from banks and other businesses asking if Vending Solutions is affiliated with SCI Vending. After receiving another call this morning I decided to do a little research on my lunch break that would shed some light on the SCI Vending “scam” mystery charges. (more…)

April 3, 2009

Companies around the United States are faced with the grim reality of laying off employees or slashing overhead costs. Over the past couple months there have been announcements from firms such as Caterpillar, Target, Home Depot and Microsoft each laying off a few thousand employees.

Many of the largest companies in the U.S. and Globally that have been focused on attracting talent during the last economic boom must now refocus their efforts on preventing layoffs of their existing workforce.

There is no indication that eliminating the free beverages would have saved any jobs at Microsoft but other firms may be faced between cutting overhead and eliminating employees. Choosing which costs to reduce can be a very divisive and time-consuming process. However, companies big and small can easily offload the costs of their drink and snack programs while still providing the convenience of having these products inside the office through use of vending machines.

In most cases, vending companies will install and fully service their vending machines free of charge. The machines support themselves from employees buying the products from the machines and the vendor collects the money and replenishes the products. In higher volume accounts vendors are also able to pay their clients a portion of the proceeds to cover any electrical costs from that machines or boost ancillary income.

While some companies choose to use an RFP to find vending companies, this can be a very costly and labor-intensive process since most firms don’t have employees with any past vending experience. Many firms elect to use vending management companies such as Vending Solutions to outsource their vending needs. Vending Solutions’ national network of providers are all full insured, comply with legal worker status, and comply with all industry standards set by the National Automatic Merchandising Association.

Managed vending programs are a truly hassle free way for companies to help trim their overhead costs while still providing the refreshments that their employees desire.

January 2, 2009

An economics professor of mine in college used to quote the T.A.N.S.T.A.F.L. principal: “There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” While the principal holds true in most cases, there really is such a thing as a free, fully serviced vending machine for businesses.

The most frequent question asked about our vending machine program is, “How much does it cost to have a vending machine placed at my business?” The truth is that the vending machine is installed, stocked with products and also serviced/maintained all free of charge.

Follow-up questions are oftentimes, “So what’s the catch?” or “How much do we pay for the products?” First of all, there is no catch; the vending machines simply support themselves from the locations’ employees or visitors purchasing the products out of them. The products are stocked in the machine at the cost of the operator who installs and maintains the machine. The operator then collects the money when he/she stocks the vending machine and that is how we make our money.

However, not all businesses will necessarily qualify for the free vending program. Soda machines and snack machines can cost the vending operator anywhere from fifteen hundred dollars to over five thousand dollars so there has to be enough people at a facility to create enough volume for a machine to be profitable. The qualifications vary depending on what type of facility the machine is to be placed in. The easiest way to determine if your business qualifies is to chat with us online, fill out the online form or call us at 1-800-655-7564 and we can discuss your options.

Another good resource regarding our vending program can be found on our FAQ page